


Heights

by sky_blue_hightops



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Fear, Fear of Heights, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15787413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_blue_hightops/pseuds/sky_blue_hightops
Summary: Connor's afraid of heights.





	Heights

Wind ripped at Connor’s hair, blinding him as it fell out of its perfect arrangement to brush his eyes, but he didn’t dare reach a hand to shift it away. His hands remained gripping the support beam as tight as he could.

**STRESS LEVELS: 67%**

His chest stuttered as air forced its way down his throat - any noises he made, any calls for help were torn from his mouth.

**00:15:23 ELAPSED.**

**00:15:22**

**00:15:21**

He adjusted the angle of his joints, feeling the unfinished building sway minutely under him. He hated it, hated the terror it sparked in his sensors.

His internal receiver pinged.

 _Connor?_  Hank’s voice filtered to his main processor, no doubt calling Connor from his phone. The sounds of both an investigation underway and a construction site put on pause crackled in behind him.

_Yes, Lieutenant?_

_The kid’s safe. She’s okay._

Something in his chest loosened. Relief soothed the terror for a few seconds - then a particularly strong gust buffered against him and static erupted in his mind, enough to fray his vision at the edges and squeeze the last of the air in his lungs out in a choked breath.

**STRESS LEVELS: 74%**

_Are you okay?_

Connor paused.

**TASK: DESCEND BUILDING**

**TASK: REASSURE LIEUTENANT ANDERSON**

**TASK: DECREASE STRESS LEVELS**

_…I am not ‘okay’, as you would define it._

Hank cursed.  _Injured?_

Thirium dripped from a slice in his forehead. Minor blunt-force injures littered his arms, his legs. Dizziness made his head light and his sensors falter.

 _No._  The tight feeling in his chest returned.  _Sc-_  He couldn’t admit it.  _Scared. Heights._

A pause from the other end. _…afraid of heights?_

 _Affirmative_. Flashes of his first field mission, of reaching for the girl, of falling  _falling_   _ **falling–**_

 _Stay with me, kid. C'mon._ Hank’s voice was solid and unwavering, and he let his eyes drift shut for a fraction of a second. His stress levels lowered just slightly.  _They’re trying to reach you, okay?_

The framework around him creaked faintly.  _Lieutenant, my scans show the building’s unfinished nature makes it even m-more unstable-_ His foot slipped for a moment, his pump regulator twisting painfully, thudding in his ears-  _Hank!_

**STRESS LEVELS: 89%**

He plastered himself against the beams as hard as he could, squeezing his eyes shut and doing anything but looking down, anything but letting his sensors scan  _exactly_  how much distance there was between him and solid ground.

_-nor! CONNOR! **Answer me!**_

He breathed in.  _F-fine, I’m fine-_

Loud cursing.  _I’ll believe that once you’re on the ground, you hear me? Don’t look down._

_I-I know- Hank, I-_

_Shut up. Listen to me. They called in backup and they’ll find a way to get up there, okay? They’ve got blueprints 'n crap. Just keep talking to me._

Connor breathed out. The metal in his grip was cold and slippery, and the wind threatened to tug him from his perch, but he ignored them. _I tried t-teaching Sumo a trick. Yesterday_. His throat closed up.  _S-Sumo, I- he-_

_Yeah, I know, kiddo- once we get home I’m sure he’ll let you give 'im a big hug. How does that sound, huh? What kinda trick was it?_

_I was attempting to teach him to sit and stay, but h-he refused to stay…he just kept following me, when I 'left’ him._ Suddenly nothing in the world could compare to the feeling of his dog’s fur between his fingers.  _I-I want Sumo-_

_I know, Connor, you’re doing so well-_

_Hank, I can’t-_

**STRESS LEVELS 92%. SEEK IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE.**

_-can’t- can’t- don’t look down don’t look down-_

_Stress levels?_

_92%. Climbing._

Hank muttered curses under his breath.  _You gotta sit tight for like, four minutes, just a few more minutes and it’s over. We can go home. Okay?_

_Hank, I’m scared-_

_You’re gonna be fine, just don’t let go. Don’t let go, you hear me? Connor?_

_Yes_ \- The android paused as vertigo made his balance waver.  _When- when-_

 _We're on our way up now. They fixed the elevator._ A brief pause. _You wouldn’t believe what Reed did the day before yesterday, while you were off on that case…_

Hank prattled on about precinct gossip as the minutes stretched on; Connor could hear the rattle of the elevator approaching but couldn’t seem to unlock the joints of his fingers. He couldn’t move, could only do his best to block out the memories that threatened to resurface-

( _-the screams of a little girl, slick blue dripping down his fingers, **MISSION SUCCESSFUL,** empty air below him and the stars above him-_

 _-snow in his hair, cold fingers on his, death, the dizzying feeling of being surrounded by so much open space, peering off the edge and feeling pure fear for the first time, his first true emotion and **it was fear-**_ )

“Connor!”

He blinked swiftly, dimly aware of the tears welling up in his eyes. “H-Hank-”

“I’ve got you, c'mon-” The lieutenant helped him reach firmer ground, pulling him from where he clung (above the sheer drop, above certain death) and wrapping his arms around the trembling android. “Hey, we’re okay,” he muttered. Connor let him guide them towards the elevator, the shaky feeling in his limbs and lightheaded fear only making his pump beat faster. Hank rubbed his back firmly.

Only once the elevator doors closed and Connor couldn’t feel the harsh wind on his face did he let the tears fall. His hands, still tense from the tight grip they had been in, clutched Hank’s jacket weakly and didn’t let go. Hank cursed softly. “What happened to you, huh?”

Connor leaned into Hank, exhausted, and took a moment to compose himself. “M-my first mission,” he began, gaze slack as he lost himself to the memory recall, “was a deviant holding a girl hostage on the roof of their building.” The data from the scans he had done cluttered his mind, flashing names and faces of the family, blinking with the figure outlines of his reconstruction techniques. “I was unable to resolve the situation in the most effective manner.” Daniel, scared and hostile, dangling the girl over the edge with a gun in his hand and a threat in his gaze. “I saved the girl, but in the process…fell over the side of the building-” Empty air, unforgiving pavement. He closed his eyes to clear his head before opening them to meet Hank’s. “It only became a problem at the Stratford Tower- I felt the deviant die and my programming connected the terror he felt with my discomfort with heights. Only once I deviated did that fear of heights…begin to impact me significantly. Make me…scared.”

Hank ruffled Connor’s hair, keeping one hand on the back of his head. “If you ever,  _ever_  need me to talk to you, call me. You don’t have to face this alone, kid.”

Connor exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he had taken in. “Thank you.”

Hank scoffed, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “No problem. Now, you wanna hear what _other_ thingsReed managed to mess up day before yesterday?”

“Undoubtedly too many, Lieutenant?”

“ _Oh, you bet_. Okay, so first that idiot dared to…”


End file.
